By BILLY HEYEN
UPDATE: Ierlan will return to Yale in 2021, according to Inside Lacrosse.
.@td_ierlan, the all-time leader in face-off wins, face-off win percentage and groundballs — and the No. 1 pick in last night’s MLL Draft, says he is coming back to @YaleLacrosse for the 2021 season: https://t.co/YhUyPpWyxH
— Inside Lacrosse (@Inside_Lacrosse) May 5, 2020
Victor and Yale lacrosse alumnus TD Ierlan was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 Major League Lacrosse Draft on Monday night by the New York Lizards. Ierlan is the most prolific faceoff man in NCAA history.
Ierlan’s senior season at Yale was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under NCAA rules, he had the opportunity to play another season. But when the Ivy League chose not to allow seniors to return for another year, Ierlan chose to turn pro.
Ierlan began his collegiate career with two seasons at Albany, then transferred to Yale for the 2019 season. Overall, Ierlan holds 10 NCAA records.
Five of Ierlan’s records center around ground balls, including the NCAA record for career ground balls (810). The other five are faceoff records. That includes season faceoff percentage (.791 in 2018), career faceoff wins (1,159) and going 26-for-26 on faceoffs in a game against Harvard in 2019.
Talked with Syracuse's Jamie Trimboli back in March about his time with TD Ierlan at Victor High School.
"He would just win the ball every time. A cheat code."
Ierlan won 83% of his face-offs at Victor, and tonight he's taken first overall in the MLL Draft. https://t.co/HkabCCWdhs
— Andrew Crane (@CraneAndrew) May 4, 2020
At Victor, Ierlan was a three-time sectional champion and two-time state champion. He won All Greater Rochester Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons to accompany the state titles. Ierlan’s younger brother, Chayse, plays goalie at Cornell.
The Lizards’ faceoff man a season ago was Gregory Puskuldjian, but Ierlan should step into the role from day one in the 2020 season if he chooses to join New York. The MLL season was set to open on May 30, but it’s been postponed due to the coronavirus. Ierlan could also be selected in the Premier Lacrosse League’s draft, which was slated for April but pushed back and yet to occur.
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